Energy: All about Efficiency

Take It From Me
I have had two energy audits by two different companies. One audit was by Imagin3 on a ten-year-old home and the other was by The Roofing Company on a 40-year-old condominium building. I also spoke in detail with JB of Granby Heating and Sheet Metal. They all used the same terms and equipment. They are incredibly knowledgeable and were eager to educate me, and others, on how to save money and energy. The following information is what I learned first-hand.

Our homes do not come with manuals, and people aren’t good at maintaining their homes. If we were, our homes would perform better. In addition, we don’t pay attention to what we cannot see.

Higher heating costs, higher standards, and how homes are now built have brought about changes that will save us money and resources. These changes will also make our homes a better and safer place to live.

Energy efficiency is comprised of two parts: air leakage and energy efficiency. With air leakage, we loose valuable heat that causes unwanted cooler air to get sucked into our homes. Energy efficiency is how much energy it takes our appliances, furnace, and water heater to work. By reducing energy draw, we reduce costs and use less energy. The goal is to achieve harmony between the occupants, the structure, and the mechanical aspects.

Air Leakage and Exchange

To understand air leakage is to understand how the air in our house moves around.

The basic thing to know is: heat wants to go to cold; wet wants to go to dry. If the house is not insulated properly, the air moves around. The warmer dryer air moves up toward the attic and out the roof. This is heat loss. This causes a suction of sorts, drawing cold air in from the basement and crawlspace. This air moving around is known as the “stack affect.” When a house sucks in air from outside, it can pull in radon, water vapor, sewer gasses, and insecticide fumes through pores and cracks in concrete floors and walls or through vents in a crawlspace. A weak area that allows air in is where the cement foundation meets the wood structure, known as the rim joist. Forty percent of the air we breathe in our homes comes from the crawlspace. Approximately 50 percent of homes and buildings in Grand County have crawlspaces.

To help stop heat loss, we need to keep the air in our homes close to the humidity of the air outside. Things like indoor plants, doing laundry, using the dishwasher, and a room full of people create humidity and warm air inside the home. Opening a door or window briefly or running a fan balances out the home’s humidity and prevents valuable heat loss. Yes, opening the door for just a minute, even though it allows cold air in, is much better than that hot humid air finding its way out. A long hot shower creates hot, wet air that wants to escape to a cooler, dryer place. Running the fan while you shower will help stop the stack affect or heat loss.

Another consideration is air quality. The air quality in our homes could be worse than the air of a busy city street, but, because we are used to it, we may not feel it. Bad or unhealthy air can come from air that’s been humid for too long or from wet basements or crawlspaces. A wet crawlspace could have mold. Even though we can’t always smell it, mold in the air could be harmful. Another source of bad air are combustion appliances that don’t work right or a fireplace that doesn’t draft properly. Bad air can also come from building a house “too tight.” This means the house was built to stop air leakage so it doesn’t have much natural air exchange.

Insulate it tight; vent it right. We can stop heat loss by adding insulation to the attic. Warm air rises towards attics and roofs. To stop that air from leaking out, increase the insulation and, if possible, add a vapor barrier. That way the moisture can’t escape. However, we do want air exchange, so proper ventilation, either natural or mechanical, is key to keeping the pressure equal and the air healthy. This is when an energy auditor can really help. They can perform a blower door test that shows where air and heat escape from your home or building. Measures can then be taken for your particular situation. Air takes the path of least resistance so sealing air leaks is very beneficial.

Have a radon test of your home. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, most homes in Colorado are at risk for radon exposure due to soil conditions, and radon exposure is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. Testing (or retesting) is important after you perform any air-sealing modifications to your home.

Some simple and effective tips to stop air leakage

1. Install weather stripping and door sweeps on all outside doors.
2. Install foam gaskets and childproof plastic caps on all exterior wall outlets and switches.
3. Caulk trim around windows and doors on exterior walls.
4. Create an insulated, air-sealed attic hatch.
5. Caulk around can lights. You would be amazed at the heat loss around can lights.
6. Put insulation and vapor barrier in crawlspaces.
7. Seal duct work and seams properly. However, don’t use duct tape; it cracks and leaks. Use foil-backed adhesive tape.

Tips for Energy Efficiency

• Use compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). They consume one-quarter to one-third as much electricity as incandescent bulbs. Savings is $30-$50 over the lifetime of each bulb.
• Tune up your boiler or furnace once a year. Vacuum or change the air filter.
• Wrap the water tank with an insulated blanket. Drain and flush it yearly. You can also wrap the hot and cold water pipes of the water heater. Set to 120 degrees; hot enough for washing dishes, showering, and killing bacteria.
• Use cold water for laundry. Many detergents clean just as effectively in cold water as in hot.
• Install a programmable thermostat. This can save up to 9% on your energy bills.
• Replace your refrigerator if it is more than 15 years old. A new refrigerator could save you about $80 per year in electricity costs compared to a similarly sized refrigerator made in the early 1990s or earlier.
• Install good window blinds, especially if you have single-pane windows. The cellular or honeycomb shades come in single, double, and triple layers and can reduce utility bills as much as 30%. Cellular blinds reduce the flow of heat.
• Have good insulation. Insulation only works well if it’s touching all sides completely. Make sure there are no gaps.
•  Install flow restrictors on your faucets. Limit bathroom sinks to one gallon per minute (gpm), kitchen to 1.5 gpm, and showers to 1.5 gpm. This will reduce water consumption and energy use by reducing the amount of water heated.
• Use Smart Strips. A Smart Strip works like a power strip but it doesn’t have to be turned off manually. Smart Strips can stop energy drains. Best for computers and plasma TVs. Not good for TiVo since it needs a constant power source for recording.
• Buy EnergyStar™ appliances.
• Replacing an average sized (22-25 cubic foot) side-by-side refrigerator, 20-25 years old, with a new one could save you $189 annually, $1890 in only ten years. The same for a freezer. Regardless of use, it’s always on and always costing money. It’s estimated that an average-sized chest freezer (15-20 cubic foot), 10 years or older, expends $18 to $25 a month. Replacing an old freezer with an Energy Star™ equivalent makes a difference in the electric bill and in energy consumption similar to updating a refrigerator.
• Dishwashers now come with sensors allowing the machine to determine that when the water being used is clean, so are the dishes, cutting down on washing time and electricity.
• Front-load washing machines are extremely efficient in several ways. A front-load washer uses approximately half the water used in conventional top-load models. Front-load machines don’t have an agitator and spin at a higher rate, meaning clothes have less water in them to dry.

The Building Department is a great resource for information and help on permits, codes, and new building science. Located in the Grand County Administration Center in Hot Sulphur Springs, (970) 725-3255.

Contact these companies for more information:
All Fired Up (970) 724-9065, Bolen’s Cleaning and Maintenance (970) 726-9357, Gambles of Grand County (970) 887-3335, Granby Heating & Sheet Metal
(970) 887-3889, Imagin3 Energy Solutions (970) 531-5867, and The Roofing Company (970) 887-0104.

Ice dams are caused when a roof is heated non-uniformly. One part of the roof is heated by heat loss and a lower part of the roof is cold. Snow and ice build up on the colder part. Water builds up between the two temperatures and can find its way into your house. Proper insulation will stop heat loss and the chance of ice dams. Also, keep your roof clear of snow buildup. Water damage can be very costly and water in enclosed areas can cause mold.

Hate spiders? Spiders are in your home if airflow gives them direct access from the outside. I have spiders in my mechanical room. After testing, I found out I need to add insulation to stop air leakage. By stopping the flow of air, I may reduce the spiders in my home.

Energy StarTM
The appliances we use on a daily basis are the water heater, refrigerator, secondary freezer, dishwasher, and washing machine. EnergyStar™ appliances can have a high payback return. Start small. The differences could be big. Also, there are incentives and tax rebates for using Energy Star™ appliances.